Feathertale
by Rageskittles03
Summary: All it takes to tear a world apart is a misplaced feather and a decision influenced by grief. So what will it take to put it back together again? -I am horrible at summaries, but this one might change.-
1. Chapter 1: A History Lesson

Chapter 1: A History Lesson

In the year 19XX two species populated the planet, one called the Luturu who bore wings made of feathers and light, and another called the Teraas who proudly displayed wings of element and magic. Even though the Luturu outnumbered the Teraas, they were able to live in peace and harmony. Until, in the year 20XX, tragedy struck. An enormous earthquake overtook the planet, causing many natural disasters and shaking its inhabitants to the core. Somehow, in the aftermath and chaos of the quake, the prince of the Luturu vanished. The king ordered a search immediately and within days a clue was found, a feather covered in the prince's blood stuck in the tree on the outskirts of the Teraas' territory. Grief stricken, the King destroyed its ties with the Teraas and declared war, one that lasted for centuries. The Teraas were naturally proficient in magic and flight, but they were still outmatched by the physical prowess and sheer numbers that the Luturu possessed. Finally, after centuries of war and bloodshed, when the numbers of the Teraas had dwindled down to mere hundreds, the Luturu banished them underground, under a large mountain range in the corner of the planet no one dared venture to, and cast a spell to keep them trapped down there for eternity.

Years passed, and the Luturu managed to rebuild their kingdom. The Teraas was mostly forgotten, demoted to legends and whispers that were passed down generation to generation. While the King never fully recovered from the loss of his son, he was able to remarry and carry on with his life, although rumors said that the locket around his neck still held the blood soaked feather from oh so long ago. In 40XX the King passed away, leaving his crown and entire kingdom to his son, who was a mere 16 years of age. After a while, the new King decided to expand his kingdom, setting his sights on the rich and fertile land near the Forbidden Mountains. Villages and towns were built, with roads connecting them all to the capital, and a stone wall was constructed around the forest and mountains. The King was pleased and the kingdom flourished, evolving and growing as time passed, the Teraas being left to the history books in the back of libraries.

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I sat back in my chair, groaning in frustration. I had tried for hours to find something to inspire me , something to spark that creativity that my mother used to love, but nothing had worked. I let my head hang back off the back of the chair and ran my hands through my hair, thinking about what I could do next. I had exhausted all the resources at all the libraries in the surrounding towns and villages, in fact this was my last hope. Another groan escaped me and I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to ward off the headache I could feel coming on.

"Miss?" I opened my eyes to find the librarian standing behind me, meekly smiling down at me. "The library is close to closing, if you could put away the books you've taken out and..." Her voice trailed off.

"Right," I exclaimed after a few seconds of silence. I jumped up out of my chair, causing the librarian to step back in surprise. "I'll clean up! Sorry about startling you!" She started backing away waving a hand at me to dismiss my comment, but I was already lost in my own little world. _I'll just clean up and try asking the librarian for some advice_ , I thought to myself as I started to put the books I had stacked around me away. _No need to wallow in misery!_ After I cleared my area, I walked up to the front desk near the entrance.

"Hi! I was wondering if you have any old story books or legends you don't keep out on the floor that you would not mind me taking home?" The librarian thought for a second and smiled. She entered a small room behind the desk and dug around for a while, leaving the door open a little. I peeked through curious, but I wasn't able to see anything, so I started humming to myself to pass the time.

"Here we go!" The librarian stepped out of the room, coughing a bit, and held out a leather-bound book. I took it from her and looked over it, inspecting the cover and spine. _This might do_ , I thought.

"Legends and Tales of the Old World," I read the title out loud and looked up at the woman in front of me. She had closed the door already and was sitting down at her desk with the notebook for checking out library books in front of her. She looked up at me and I noticed that her hair was covered in dust.

"No one ever checks it out, but this is one of the books we are mandated to keep. Do you want to check it out?" I nodded at her, absent-mindedly pulling out my ID card so she could jot my information down. "Thank you," she said after a couple of minutes, "and have a nice evening." I smiled in her direction and walked out of the library, nose buried in the book.

It was a book filled to the brim with legends from the Old World. Tales of grandeur and mysticism, legends about shadow creatures and monsters. My brain buzzed with ideas, but one specific story stood out to me. A story called Of Heroes and Demons . It told of a hero who led an army in battle against demons that were plaguing his town. It described how he drove the demons back and trapped them in a forest under a mountain range in the darkest parts of the world. The ending was long and went over his victory and sung praises for him, but I was more focused on the demons. _The mountain range in the_ _darkest part of the world with a forest under it... Sounds like the Forbidden Mountains!_ I looked at the sky thoughtfully and realized that I was already at my house, my feet had carried me there automatically. I opened my door and walked in, closing it behind me and taking in the room that was my house. All I had, all I could afford, was a bed in the corner of my house, a small couch in front of my fireplace, and a dining table big enough for two. _Ah yes,_ I thought. _The life of a starving artist._

I took my shoes off and tossed them next to the door nonchalantly, then I slumped onto my couch with a sigh. My eyes and thoughts were drawn to the book again and I picked it up from the floor next to me where it had fallen, turning to the story stuck in my mind. After a few moments of indecision, I nodded at the book.

"Looks like I am heading to the Forbidden Mountains tomorrow!"

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 **Please let me know what you think of this first chapter! Reviews are appreciated, even if it is just to call me out on a** **grammatical mistake. Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Highway to Hell

Chapter 2: Highway to Hell

I woke up the next morning with a pep in my step and determination in my heart. I was going to find out more about this tale if it took me all day! I grabbed my backpack, a red one with black accents that was built for heavy duty hiking, and started gathering all of my materials. I packed up my three sketchbooks, a couple of pencils and erasers, a handful of energy bars and around three spare water bottles, a compass, one of the few books I had lying around my house about the proper plants and herbs that were edible, a hook and rope, and a plain brown jacket. I struggled for a couple seconds with my unruly, curly hair, but gave up in the end and threw it up in a messy bun. Around ten minutes later and I was dressed, fed, and almost ready to go. I looked down at my shoes in confusion, I thought I had placed my socks on top of my shoes before I fell asleep, but it didn't seem that way. With a huff I walked over to my bed and shoved my hand under it, digging through the mess that was under my bed. I finally found a couple of socks, but to my dismay they were mismatched, with one sock dotted pink and brown and the other looking like a red and black zebra. It was the best I had though, so I pulled them and my shoes on and rushed out the door, eager to get my journey started.

It was a short five minute walk from my house, which was still inside the town walls but right at the edge, to the gate that marked the only exit and entrance. I waved at the guards who were standing there, trying to look nonchalant, but I guess it failed because one them called out to me. "Hello there Zerda, what brings you out here this early?" I stifled a sigh and walked up to him, preparing myself for cordial small talk.

"Good morning Demitri! I'm just out doing my usual nature walk, trying to find some sort of inspiration. You know how I am," I trailed off, fighting the urge to pop my joints, a habit I picked up from my mother. Demitri chuckled in response and waved me ahead, winking when I turned around to wave goodbye. I followed the well traveled dirt path until it hit the fork and, after one last look behind me to make sure the guards couldn't see me, I walked down the small path made of flattened grass that turned left. The area surrounding me was flat and expansive, with grassy plains and rolling hills to the right of me, sparse woods behind me, and to the left and ahead of me was the enormous wall that almost seemed to hold the densely packed in Forbidden Forest at bay. The path I was on ran alongside the wall, ending at the main gate leading into the forest. That wasn't my goal, however.

I walked past the gate without a second glance, making my way off of the path and into the area beyond. The outside perimeter of the wall was well shaded and had plenty of shadowy areas for me to slip in, especially this early in the morning. I walked for a while, walking along the curve of the wall to ensure that I was out of sight of the guards, then slipped into a well shaded nook. I pulled the hook out of my backpack and, after peeking around to make sure no one was watching, threw the hook over the wall. It took a couple of tries, but I was able to get it to hold firm. I took a deep breath and slowly climbed up, making sure to peer around every few seconds. The climb only lasted a couple of minutes, but to me it felt like eternity. Finally I reached the top and swung my leg over the wall, looking around as I rested.

The forest at the foot of the Forbidden Mountains was enormous and seemed to go on for miles and miles. The trees seemed to touch the heavens and were dense, and left almost no sun for the plants on the ground. I could hear birds and frogs, and could see a couple of deer in the distance. Other than that, there was no movement, and definitely no signs of other Luturu. _Perfect_ , I thought with a grin, then I jumped down, using my wings to slow my decent. All sound seemed to stop the moment my feet touched the ground and I paused, a bit unnerved. Slowly, almost hesitantly, the symphony of frogs and birds started back up, although it was muffled by the abundance of leaves and bushes. I gathered up my hook and shoved it in my backpack, then started meandering around. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for, but I did know that inspiration and instinct dictated I come here. I couldn't deny it was beautiful, of course, it just wasn't what I was hoping for.

It was around thirty minutes later and I had paused, crouching in the bushes as I watched a family of giant birds by the shore of a pond. I reached behind me and grabbed my sketchbook from my backpack as slowly and quietly as I could and started sketching. The world seemed to slip away as I focused in on the inspiration I was feeling and my pencil flew across the paper. A loud crack rang out, breaking through the tranquility and causing both myself and the birds to jump. The birds flew away, but I stayed in the bushes, my eyes wildly searching for the culprit.

"Come on man! You scared them away!" My heart leapt into my throat when I heard the voice, and the footsteps that accompanied it. "How can you call yourself a professional if you can't even sneak up on a wild animal?" The only response was a deep grunt, which let me know that there was more than one. _Probably a guard patrol_ , I thought. _Well, there is no point in sticking around and finding out._ I silently put my materiel away and started backing away from the clearing as quietly as I could. I froze when my heel bumped up against a pebble, causing it to hit a tree.

"Did you hear that?" I heard at least one of the guards start making his way over and I immediately backed away faster, hoping against hope that I wouldn't be caught. It seemed Lady Luck was not on my side though, because not even ten seconds later the guard pushed his way through the bushes and saw me, eyes wide with shock. We stared at each other for a while, unable to move, but I snapped out of it when I heard his partner trip on something and curse. I bolted from there, not bothering to look back, and ran deeper into the forest as fast as I could.

"Come on," I heard the guard yell faintly behind me. "She's getting away!" The sound of them crashing through the underbrush filled me with adrenaline and I ran faster, zig-zagging around to try and throw them off of my trail. It seemed to work, and I could hear their muttered curses and gasps as they tried to locate me. I slowed down a bit and made my footsteps quieter to throw them off even more. After a couple minutes I found a small cave and dived into it without a second thought. Straining my ears, I tried to pick out their voices as I forced myself to breath slower and quieter.

"That brat is fast! Where did she go?" I heard a grunt and they both stopped right outside my cave. I held my breath and crossed my fingers, knowing it would be over if they found me. "She went inside _that_ cave? Nuh-uh, I am not going in there!" Miraculously, I heard them start to walk away, with the talkative guard muttering under his breath about hell holes and not being paid enough for this. I continued to wait in apprehensive silence, and minutes went by with nothing happening. Finally, I decided the coast was clear, and peeked my head out. Sure enough, there wasn't a guard in sight. I let out the breath I had been holding and walked out of the cave, mentally patting myself on the back as I checked out my environment.

The mouth of the cave let out into a clearing, with the trees of the forest surrounding it in a semi-circle. The clearing itself wasn't anything to ogle at, just grass that turned into rocks and dirt the closer to the cave it got, but there was a giant shadow that loomed over the entire area and filled me with dread. _I couldn't have run all the way... could I?_ I braced myself and slowly turned around, and sure enough I was at the base of the mountain range that was the Forbidden Mountains. The mountain I was in front of was the biggest out of all of them, with the other mountains situated a ways back. A part of me was yelling and screaming for me to get the heck out of there, to run back and never return, but a bigger part, the one that originally sparked my curiosity in the first place, seemed to urge me to go forward. To explore inside the cave. _What is the worst that could happen?_

That thought bounced around in my head, effectively drowning any others out, as I squared my shoulders and walked into the cave. The cave was unremarkable, a simple rocky hallway that let out into a normal sized cavern at the end. The cavern was full of stalactites that seemed to be attached to the ceiling by a string and there was a lovely little natural pool in the back right corner, but the most impressive sight was the giant hole that seemed to go down for miles. The hole was situated on top of a miniature hill in the cavern itself, and I climbed it slowly and peeked over it. It was pitch black and there seemed to be a wind that wanted to pull me into it. It was a bit disconcerting and I chuckled to myself as I pulled back, the feathers on my wings ruffling up.

"None of that now Zelda," I muttered just loud enough for my voice to echo back at me. I turned around and started making my way down but stopped and peered into the darkness in front of me. I could have sworn I saw a floating figure in front of me, but that would have been impossible... I let out another chuckle, this one sounding a bit more nervous, but before I could make any movement forward, I was pulled backwards into the hole by both of my wings. I only had time to register what sounded like a whispered apology from a childlike voice before my ears were filled with the sound of the air rushing as I fell. My wings fluttered uselessly and I stared into the darkness, unable to scream. A searing pain went through my body as I felt my back slam into something hard, then I flipped over in midair, which allowed me to see what I was landing on. Another branch slammed into me, into my gut this time and I retched. I continued to fall, getting caught on branches and leaves until I finally hit my head on one, causing me to fall unconscious. My last sight before I blacked out was that same floating figure, one eye opened to reveal a brilliant red color that was full of concern.

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 **So there it is! I know the second chapter was a long time coming, but I always have trouble with the beginning of stories. Please feel free to leave reviews, it lets me know that I'm not alone! Thank you kindly!**


	3. Chapter 3: A Change in Perspective

Chapter 3: A Change in Perspective

They watched in silence as the day went by once again. Day after day with no change, with no one besides themselves to talk to, with nothing to do, it's a wonder they remembered who they were. It's a wonder they still even remembered what their history was and what their true timeline was. The only way they were able to accomplish that was by reciting the basics at the end of each day, just to keep themselves sane. Speaking of...

"Alright Frisk, it's time once again." The voice that rang out seemed to come from nowhere, but after a couple of seconds a tiny ghost child appeared from the shadows in the entrance of the cave. They seemed to be around nine years old, about 4' 6" tall. Their hair was brown, straight, and fell right at their shoulders. Their bangs slightly covered their eyes, but if one were to look close enough, they would see the most peculiar sight. One the the child's eyes was shut tight while the other one was wide open, piercing red eye staring out into the world. The reason behind their peculiar appearance was that there were two children inside the one body, with one of the children being the aforementioned Frisk and the other one called Chara.

"C'mon Frisk, we need to go over the timeline once again or we'll forget ourselves," Chara's voice called out again after moments of silence. They finally nodded slowly, choosing not to talk, and Chara sighed in relief. "Don't scare me like that, I need you to stay determined the most out of the two of us. You are piloting this thing after all." Frisk cracked a tiny smile as an acknowledgment, but made no other movement. "I guess I'll start," Chara stated.

"It started after you did that... 'genocide' run, right? You tried so hard to not dust anyone, you didn't like it and you wanted to get rid of me, but when you got to the Judgment Hall it was different. The smiley-butt wouldn't let you pass, it seemed as if some part of him remembered. He kept on killing you and killing you and he wouldn't let you explain..." Chara trailed off when they noticed Frisk wincing, remembering the pain of San's bones stabbing through their body over and over.

Chara cleared their throat and soldiered on. "I think you were able to try talking to him about ten times without letting your determination falter, but that last time broke your will enough to allow me to jump in and bring up the 'True Reset'. I tried so hard to convince you to do it, and whispered all kinds of things to you. You were just about to 'Load' when I got fed up and slammed my hand on the 'True Reset', and it worked!" They stopped talking again, reminiscing on that moment with pride.

"The world did 'Reset', but it didn't 'Reset' to the first time you fell down. Not even to the first time I fell down that blasted hole. It reset the entire world, the entire universe. It was a 'True Reset'." Chara stopped talking again, unable to continue. Frisk took over, just as they always did. Their voice was softer than Chara's, and held just a bit more innocence.

"But in the process of the 'Reset', you and I fused. Now no one in this new universe knows about us, we share a body, 'Determination' is no longer a factor, and Humans and Monsters have been replaced. We are the only ones who know of the previous universe... and we repeat the events to ourselves every day so that we continue to remember." They hung their head and mourned the loss of their old friends and family all through the night.

Morning came, and with it came something new. The ghost children snapped in existence as an unknown female tore into their cavern, trying to calm her panting as she hid. They watched her with interest as she crossed her fingers and waited. Muffled voices came from the entrance, then faded slowly, allowing the female to sigh in relief. She peeked outside, seeming to check her surroundings, then walked out. After a couple of minutes she turned around, her face turned up in awe as she looked at the mountain range. They tried to get a better look at her, but they were unable to due to the sun being at her back, which blinded them. The unknown female walked into the cave and wandered into the giant cavern that they called their home, looking around as she took in the sights. Frisk flew in front of her and studied their visitor intensely.

She was shorter than average, standing at a proud 5'4", but what she lacked in height she seemed to make up in confidence. Her hair was a dark chocolate color, curly, and was put up in what looked like a hastily thrown together bun. Her eyes were round and soft, and a startling baby blue, the color standing out against her naturally tan skin. She had a small nose , but a sharp chin and a rounded face. She looked healthy enough, and was dressed in dark blue jeans and a simple black tank top. Her wings were feathery and seemed to glow slightly, the same as anyone else of her species. Chara couldn't help but notice that her wings were smaller than the ones they had seen before, but they choose not to say anything.

By the time they had finished their assessment of their visitor, she had made her way up the hill that led to the Underworld and was peering down, feathers puffing up a bit. Seeing her at the edge gave Chara an idea and they decided to voice this to Frisk.

"What if we pull her down?" Frisk stiffened up a little at the suggestion and Chara continued on, trying to elaborate. "I mean, she could be this universe's version of us right? And it doesn't seem like she is about to fall, maybe the reason we were allowed to live during the 'Reset' is because we are needed to give the little push that starts setting this timeline right!" As they spoke, the visitor had turned away from the hole and was walking down, back towards the start of the cave.

"So Frisk? It's now or never." They felt Frisk nod their consent and they grinned, quickly appearing in front of the woman just long enough to allow her to see them. She paused and narrowed her eyes, and during that moment Frisk went around behind her and gently grabbed her wings. They took a deep breath and, with a muttered apology, pulled. Hard. Frisk looked away, but made sure to follow her decent down the hole, wincing whenever she hit a branch. After what felt like an eternity, but was really more like a couple minutes, she landed on the ground at the foot of the giant tree that was the only plant in the room it was in. Frisk and Chara floated next to her and sighed in relief when the saw the gentle rise and fall of her chest. She was alive, but her left wing was broken, laying at an awkward angle, useless. They sat down next to the unconscious woman and sighed again.

"I know what you're thinking Frisk, but she'll be fine. And we'll be with her every step of the way, just as I was for you all that time ago." Frisk relaxed at their words and settled in for the long wait. There was a slight shift in the atmosphere and they noticed eyes peeking out from the darkness at the prone figure. "I hope she wakes up quickly..."

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 **Third chapter done and done! Please feel free to review!**


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